Predictions: Will Primetime Packers Beat Cowboys, Extend Winning Streak?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers crushed the Chicago Bears last week. Ultimately, though, what does the 31-7 victory mean in the grand scheme of things?

Was Green Bay’s solid-gold performance a sign of things to come after four lackluster performances? Or was it fool’s gold, a combination of a revenge game and facing a backup quarterback leading to a mirage performance?

We will get some answers when the Packers host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Who will win? Here are our weekly predictions.

Bill Huber’s Packers-Cowboys Prediction

The Packers were great against the Bears but, really, what does it mean?

Their victory came against mistake-prone Tyson Bagent. The quarterback opponent on Sunday night will be against Dak Prescott, who is one of the best in the business.

Bagent threw passes to Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, a decent duo. Prescott will be throwing passes to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, perhaps the best duo in the league.

The Bears were destroyed by Jordan Love’s barrage of deep passes. Dallas’ pass defense has been terrible but premier cornerback Joey Porter will be in the starting lineup. The presence of Porter could allow the Cowboys to limit, say, Matthew Golden and then put two defensive backs on Christian Watson.

So, while last week’s win over the Bears was a potential season-changing verdict, this week’s game against the Cowboys might be the real litmus test of their playoff-worthiness. Good teams turn one good performance into another. Mediocre teams follow up good performances with duds.

“You’ve got to keep stacking,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “We talk about it in the locker room all the time and team meetings, you have a game like that, you’ve got to be able to follow it up with another great performance. That’s the mindset heading into this week. We’ve got to be able to stack wins and get rolling as an offense and as a team.

“Just comes back to it’s a new week. You’ve got to learn from the mistakes, learn from the good things that happened last week, and move on. Flush it, put all the focus on Dallas this week and understand that they’re going to be a hungry team coming in here.”

I’m tempted to pick Dallas. All along, I’ve wondered how the Packers will be able to win games like this one or next week at Detroit. Good pass defenses have a winning combination of rush and coverage. The Packers don’t have either. Their pass rush isn’t good enough to impact the quarterback on a consistent basis and their cornerbacks aren’t good enough to slow down elite receivers.

In last year’s tie, the Cowboys scored 40 points. Dallas didn’t have receiver CeeDee Lamb on the field. Green Bay did have Micah Parsons. On Sunday night, Prescott will be throwing passes to Lamb and George Pickens without having to worry about Parsons.

Turning to this season, the Packers were crushed on a Thursday night by the Falcons but rebounded during the mini-bye to beat the Buccaneers and Bears. The Cowboys were crushed by the Buccaneers last Thursday night but had the mini-bye to find some answers.

On paper, Green Bay’s defense is good. It’s ranked eighth in yards allowed per game, fifth in yards allowed per play, sixth in yards allowed per passing plays, first in interception percentage and eighth in sack percentage.

However, that success has come against a string of mediocre (or worse) quarterbacks, with the best of the bunch probably being Michael Penix. There is nothing mediocre about Prescott and his receivers.

On the other hand, Dallas’ defense is downright horrible. It ranks 32nd in yards allowed per play, 29th in yards allowed per rush and 30th in yards allowed per pass. It’s 32nd in interceptions, 29th in sack percentage, 32nd on third down and 24th in the red zone.

So, if the question is how the Packers can slow down Prescott and his receivers, the bigger question for the Cowboys is whether they can slow down Love and his receivers.

Added together, Love and Prescott will have big games. At times, they will look downright unstoppable. But Green Bay’s defense has made some big plays this season while Dallas’ defense has made almost none. On a night in which it might take only one game-changing play by the defense, the Packers seem more likely to make it.

Prediction: Packers 31, Cowboys 27.

Bill’s Record: 3-2.

Jacob Westendorf’s Packers-Cowboys Prediction

Points, points, and more points. Dallas’ defense is terrible and does not match up well at all with the Packers’ trio of pass catchers. The Packers should be able to move the football almost at will. Jordan Love is excellent on Sunday Night Football and should know that his team needs a big performance to stave off a potential letdown after last week’s big win over the Bears.

The Packers are also facing a real quarterback for the first time this season. Dak Prescott should be able to navigate Green Bay’s defense without Micah Parsons chasing him, with his talented receivers doing some damage against Green Bay’s banged-up cornerbacks.

Ultimately, it will be a case of who gets the ball last. In this case, Love does, and Trey Smack will drill a game-winning field goal as time expires to lift the Packers to 4-2. 

Prediction: Packers 37, Cowboys 34.

Jacob’s Record: 2-3.